One Of America's Largest Public Rose Gardens Is A Free Floral Park In Columbus With Enchanting Pathways

A symbol of love and beauty, inspiring songs, poetry, and art, there's no flower as illustrious as the rose. From the International Rose Test Garden in Portland — the aptly-nicknamed City of Roses that's also home to a lush park with Oregon's prettiest forest trails — to the White House Rose Garden in Washington, D.C., there are plenty of gorgeous rose gardens all across America to see the floral beauties in bloom.

But if you want to visit one of the largest rose gardens in the U.S., take a journey to the city of Columbus, Ohio — where you'll also find an idyllic historic German village on the outskirts of downtown — to visit the Columbus Park of Roses.

Dating back to 1953, the stunning 13-acre garden is a vibrant wonderland comprised of over 12,000 roses. Tiptoe down picturesque paths as you explore a myriad of rose species flourishing in five different gardens. Perfect for a romantic detour, family outing, or a peaceful, floral-filled solo retreat in the heart of the city, stop and smell the roses at Columbus Park of Roses.

Located in the Clintonville neighborhood, Columbus Park of Roses is nestled inside Whetstone Park east of the Park of Roses Shelter House. If you're driving, you'll find an abundance of free parking in the area. Alternatively, you can take bus line No. 2 to the Whetstone Library on Acton Road and walk the half-mile to the park entrance. The gardens are free to enter and are open daily during daylight hours. While the grounds are beautiful year-round, the best time to visit is between mid-June and September, when the roses are in bloom.

Entering the park, you'll find yourself stepping into a fairytale-like oasis, greeted by a tranquil fountain and the fragrance of roses drifting through the air. Lined with benches and manicured lawns, a 1-mile paved path leisurely wraps its way around the five gardens. Most popular is the Formal Rose Garden, which flourishes in a pristine symmetrical Italianate design. Strolling its 7 acres, you'll encounter a vibrant array of floral varieties, including hybrid tea roses and shrub roses. Ornamented by an elegant observation tower, it's the perfect spot for photos and panoramic bloom-viewing. 

To witness the wonder of roses cultivated over a century ago (before 1867, or the year modern roses were invented, to be exact), visit the Heritage Garden. Flowering just once a year, the best time to view the Heritage Garden roses is in the late spring. Among the park's gorgeous grounds, you'll also find the Perennial Garden, Herb Garden, and Backyard Garden, totaling over 7,500 rose specimens growing inside the park.

Apart from the rose gardens, you can wander through the 13-acre Arboretum, which boasts over 138 types of shrubs and trees, including different varieties of dogwood. To take a self-guided dogwood tree tour, you can download a guide here. Autumn is the perfect time to take a conifer self-guided tour. With over 630 species of conifer trees in the world, six of them are native to Ohio, and you can see them all at the Columbus Park of Roses. Enjoy an afternoon of leaf-peeping, admiring the vibrant fall hues of various trees, including dawn redwoods, cedars, and cypresses.

If you're longing for even more gardens, you can head 10 miles south to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens near downtown Columbus. The stunning 88-acre property features a jungle of exotic plants, a tranquil zen garden, glass art installations, and seasonally rotating exhibits, such as the Blooms & Butterflies exhibition. If you miss the butterfly exhibit, you can always plan a trip to this southern coastal state to witness the great Monarch butterfly migration.